BOOK LAUNCH: "ON THE SACRED RIVERS."

Dear Countrymen.

I wrote this historical account of our country, I believe it is interesting reading.

And I’ve decided to ask you to buy a copy.

It was self published by an American Publisher. 

This book available for purchase from Xlibris, info attached.

       To Order The Book

Book orders can be placed through the Xlibris Book Order Department.

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 How You Can Tell Others to Order Your Book-Instructions to me but applicable to you as well.

Your friends, family, and other interested buyers can order your book through our Book Ordering Department using the same e-mail, fax, telephone, and mailing information above. Additionally, they can order your book through our online bookstore: https://www.xlibris.com/en/bookstore. 

The Book Cover can be viewed as well on the bookstore site. 

Author's Biography: A lifelong history enthusiast with a passion for ancient texts and world cultures. Keenly interested in politics, he explores historical narratives through a broad lens, connecting past events to contemporary society. Trained as a Machinist Journeyman for the Sugar Industry in British Guiana, he later immigrated to Canada, where he deepened his knowledge through extensive reading on history and politics. In his book, African Slaves, Indentured Indians, Guyanese Castes, he examines the intertwined histories of indentured Indians, African slaves, and the caste-like society of British Guiana, tracing the pivotal events that led to the end of Indian indentured labor in British colonies.

Book Overview: This powerful narrative unveils the forgotten histories of British Guiana—where indentured Indians and African slaves lived under a system of oppression, hierarchy, and resilience. It explores the caste-like divisions that shaped colonial society and the pivotal historical events that led to the abolition of Indian indentured labor across the British colonies.

Blending historical fact with vivid storytelling, this book transports readers to the sugar plantations, where the struggles of Indian laborers mirrored the harsh realities once endured by enslaved Africans. It examines their interactions, conflicts, and shared legacies under British rule—offering a humanized and compelling account of survival, resistance, and identity formation.

Key Themes:
✔ Indentured Indians & African Slaves – Their struggles, resilience, and impact on Guyanese society
✔ The Caste-Like Colonial Order – How race, labor, and class shaped life in British Guiana
✔ Cultural Survival & Transformation – The blending and preservation of traditions amid adversity
✔ The End of Indenture – The historical events that led to the abolition of Indian indentured labor
✔ Legacy & Modern Guyana – How these histories continue to shape the nation’s identity today

Why Read This Book?
🔹 Engaging, Narrative-Driven Storytelling – Brings history to life for general readers
🔹 Untold Perspectives on Colonial Oppression – Beyond textbooks, a deep dive into lived experiences
🔹 A Crucial Piece of Guyana’s History – Essential reading for those interested in the nation’s past and cultural evolution

Through rich detail and compelling narratives, Indentured Indians, African Slaves, Guyanese Caste sheds light on a critical chapter of Caribbean history, making it a must-read for history enthusiasts, students, and anyone seeking to understand the roots of Guyana’s diverse society.

Dedication:   To the resilient souls of our ancestors, who endured, persevered, and built a legacy. 

                      To the people of Guyana, whose stories of struggle and triumph must never be forgotten.

                      And to the generations to come, may you find strength in history and wisdom in                                      its lessons.

Introduction:

The story of British Guiana is one of survival, endurance, and transformation. From the sugarcane fields where African slaves toiled under brutal conditions to the arrival of Indian indentured laborers seeking a better future, this land has been shaped by the sacrifices of many. Yet, their struggles, hopes, and resilience are often reduced to statistics in colonial records, their voices lost in the pages of history.

This book seeks to reclaim those voices. It is a journey through time, unraveling the lived experiences of those who built British Guiana—now modern-day Guyana—into a land of diverse cultures and unbreakable spirit. We will explore the realities of indentured Indians, the legacy of African enslavement, and the deeply entrenched caste-like structures that emerged in colonial society. More than a history, this is a narrative of human endurance, revealing the forces that shaped an entire people and the events that led to the end of Indian indentured labor in the British colonies.

Understanding our past is essential to shaping our future. The echoes of colonial policies still resonate in our society today, influencing identity, politics, and cultural divisions. By revisiting this history with fresh eyes, we can recognize the foundations upon which modern Guyana stands—and perhaps, find a path toward unity and understanding.

This book is not just a chronicle of the past; it is an invitation to reflect, to remember, and to honor those who came before us.

Welcome to their story. Welcome to our history.

timehri@golden.net

BOOK LAUNCH, SOON

 

Book Title: African Slaves, Indentured Indians, Guyanese Castes

Book Subtitles:  None

Pen name:   Velutha Kuttapen

Author's Biography: A lifelong history enthusiast with a passion for ancient texts and world cultures. Keenly interested in politics, he explores historical narratives through a broad lens, connecting past events to contemporary society. Trained as a Machinist Journeyman for the Sugar Industry in British Guiana, he later immigrated to Canada, where he deepened his knowledge through extensive reading on history and politics. In his book, African Slaves, Indentured Indians, Guyanese Castes, he examines the intertwined histories of indentured Indians, African slaves, and the caste-like society of British Guiana, tracing the pivotal events that led to the end of Indian indentured labor in British colonies.

Book Overview: This powerful narrative unveils the forgotten histories of British Guiana—where indentured Indians and African slaves lived under a system of oppression, hierarchy, and resilience. It explores the caste-like divisions that shaped colonial society and the pivotal historical events that led to the abolition of Indian indentured labor across the British colonies.

Blending historical fact with vivid storytelling, this book transports readers to the sugar plantations, where the struggles of Indian laborers mirrored the harsh realities once endured by enslaved Africans. It examines their interactions, conflicts, and shared legacies under British rule—offering a humanized and compelling account of survival, resistance, and identity formation.

Key Themes:
✔ Indentured Indians & African Slaves – Their struggles, resilience, and impact on Guyanese society
✔ The Caste-Like Colonial Order – How race, labor, and class shaped life in British Guiana
✔ Cultural Survival & Transformation – The blending and preservation of traditions amid adversity
✔ The End of Indenture – The historical events that led to the abolition of Indian indentured labor
✔ Legacy & Modern Guyana – How these histories continue to shape the nation’s identity today

Why Read This Book?
🔹 Engaging, Narrative-Driven Storytelling – Brings history to life for general readers
🔹 Untold Perspectives on Colonial Oppression – Beyond textbooks, a deep dive into lived experiences
🔹 A Crucial Piece of Guyana’s History – Essential reading for those interested in the nation’s past and cultural evolution

Through rich detail and compelling narratives, Indentured Indians, African Slaves, Guyanese Caste sheds light on a critical chapter of Caribbean history, making it a must-read for history enthusiasts, students, and anyone seeking to understand the roots of Guyana’s diverse society.

Book Size:     5x8

Keywords: Caste, African Slaves, Indentured Indians, Enoch, Indus Civilization, British Guiana,                              Gladstone

The Cover :      Indus Valley Civilization, Catholic Influences and the Union Jack..

Dedication:   To the resilient souls of our ancestors, who endured, persevered, and built a legacy. 

                      To the people of Guyana, whose stories of struggle and triumph must never be forgotten.

                      And to the generations to come, may you find strength in history and wisdom in                                      its lessons.

Introduction:

The story of British Guiana is one of survival, endurance, and transformation. From the sugarcane fields where African slaves toiled under brutal conditions to the arrival of Indian indentured laborers seeking a better future, this land has been shaped by the sacrifices of many. Yet, their struggles, hopes, and resilience are often reduced to statistics in colonial records, their voices lost in the pages of history.

This book seeks to reclaim those voices. It is a journey through time, unraveling the lived experiences of those who built British Guiana—now modern-day Guyana—into a land of diverse cultures and unbreakable spirit. We will explore the realities of indentured Indians, the legacy of African enslavement, and the deeply entrenched caste-like structures that emerged in colonial society. More than a history, this is a narrative of human endurance, revealing the forces that shaped an entire people and the events that led to the end of Indian indentured labor in the British colonies.

Understanding our past is essential to shaping our future. The echoes of colonial policies still resonate in our society today, influencing identity, politics, and cultural divisions. By revisiting this history with fresh eyes, we can recognize the foundations upon which modern Guyana stands—and perhaps, find a path toward unity and understanding.

This book is not just a chronicle of the past; it is an invitation to reflect, to remember, and to honor those who came before us.

Welcome to their story. Welcome to our history.

timehri@golden.net

BEYOND THE HORIZON-Ravi Dev and Vincent Alexander

 All leadership encourages their followers to aspire towards progress and in many cases coin the phrase, "Beyond the Horizon." meaning, in the effort of a better future.

Ravi Dev referred to the phrase pertaining to President Desmond Hugh Hoyte and Barama, the Korean Plyboard Company. The title of his speech to the nation of Guyana.

Pre-Independence British Guiana work force were held to the highest standards and those who worked for the Colonial government and Bookers undertook their tasks with diligence. And almost the entire colony worked in that discipline. 

All of that culture disappeared in just four years after independent Guyana.

By the time Barama set up in Guyana, the country was psychologically affected. Any and everything was in demand in Guyana, people stole anything. No matter what it was, there was money to be made. Because someone needed it. The purchasers did not care where it came from, clothes on clothe lines disappeared, pots, pans, bicycles, cutlasses and every item that wasn't anchored into concrete, at least couple of feet deep.

Cutlasses were considered a weapon, needed at least three signatures of PNC authorities to purchase one.

The moral of many Indians were low, they drank to the point of intoxication and danced away to the sounds of Babla and Kanchan. 

All the gifts of Chinese factories given to Guyana to maintain employment of its citizens eventually became derelict. Buses given to Guyana by the Indian Government, driven recklessly and discarded after a few years.

Certainly, Burnham did not work in those factories neither did he drive the buses. We the people did, the citizens. And the prejudices that prevailed then and now, initiated by we the people.

No politician can make citizens hate one another. As gods they live away from us, the common people.

Ravi Dev: 

Barama had problems in maintaining production on the weekend. Friday nights, Saturdays and Sundays, many workers were absent. That attitudes still exists today, in both racial groups. Weddings and partying would take preferences over work.

 During the twenty eight years of PNC governance, the Guyana Agricultural Bank did loan Afro-Guyanese sums of money to create venturers. The Bank at its closure reported huge losses. Money never repaid.

The Rice Industry was res-structured. Production fell due to the lack of incentives to grow the crop.

The Sugar Industry was indeed entirely managed by Afro-Guyanese. Many graduates from Bookers Training Centre. Educated as technicians and not managers. The industry almost collapsed until the managing group of Booker Tate took it over.

No manner of shout down will ever discard these historical events in Guyana. I think that is what two of the panelist is attempting to do. Don't want Black People to hear of it.

Vincent Alexander:

Indians did work at the Demerara Bauxite Company. In nineteen Sixty Four, close to 3000 Indians had to evacuated from Wismar and neighboring districts. Referring to the Wismar Massacre.

When PAYE was introduced in the country, every citizen working for a reputable company had the taxes deducted from their wages. Both coolie and black people. And both these races working in the underground economy never paid taxes, even unto dis day.

At emancipation, African villages had to pay taxes, that is true. But you claimed, Indians were living in nuclear villages and never paid taxes. I am sure you are aware of the history of that arrangement. Your discussions are well prepared, that tells me you know but some how not perceived the way an Indian would. So please indulge me.

Indians when they moved off the plantations, lived in many Black villages. Villages, close by Sugar Factories, they continued to work. On the Settlements, the Sugar Company developed, were ran by the Sugar Welfare Fund for their workers. And Bookers paid the government its taxes, colonial and  Independent Guyana Government. Services to these settlements were not administered by any government, done by the Sugar Welfare Fund. 

I worked at Blairmont Sugar Estate in 1960, the period when Bookers decided to treat its workers a little bit decent. My forefathers must have been happy, considering they worked for one shilling per day from 1838 to 1922. That was a paid sacrifice. Once for All Bonus was extra money to do the thing one hoped to do. I bought a blue tyrlene shirt and a pair of Classic shoe. If yuh old like me, you would know it wasn't cheap. 

On the topic of caste, many Indians are Christians and those who are Hindus doan even know or consider castes in their daily lives in Guyana. If anything, the privilege Indians have the mentality as of the Brahmins, similar to your Colored People of Guyana, a full blooded Negro would know of their contempt back then. 

On the topic of rice. The internet and YouTube can settle any difference of opinions. It is all right there for us to see. Sam Hinds on a Talk Program said, several Afro-Guyanese in Maichony planted rice and the crop was unpredictable as for yields.  

Burma was a plant setup by the PNC government to mill rice, paddy supplied by the rice farmers. And the Indians grumbled about the price of paddy. Eventually, the crop production reduced. The country had limited foreign exchange, so rice was sacrificed.

On the question of land. Nothing stays the same. At emancipation, things were one way and by 1917, the colony had arrived at a different plan, a colonial directive. Sugar increased production, more lands were cultivated. Independent plantations became fewer with larger conglomerates. The British were developing sugar since 1838 to be greater production. That is why there were 80, 000 Africans to 239,000 Indians in the colony. The British owned the place, dey duh wah dey want. Forbes nationalized Bookers and never separated the vast amounts of land owned. Onto this day the government has the lands. Forbes too busy ignoring the Indian People, he nice to dem alrite but his interest were with the Afro-sympathy for enslavement. Despite being overlooked, once the opportunity availed itself, Indians went about working the land without any malice. The world had changed but the British stayed the course and sold Amerindian lands as they wished. Since Ancient times, Indians worked the land in India. It is in their veins, it is what they hoped for. The upper castes are few in comparison to the underprivilege castes who are hundreds of millions whose lands were confiscated by the invading Hindus delegating them as Shudras, Chamars and untouchables. Many who came to British Guiana were slaving to the Brahmins who never held a plough in their hands

BEING SAD

Wished I was a creative writer so that I can transfer my sadness to you the reader, through words. 

But I am not prolific enough.

Social media in inundated with commentaries, Guyanese of all races, men and women. 

On every topic.

All of it very serious and interesting, some comedic.

There has been many commentaries on the progress of Black Guyanese, as the commentators puts it.

Overwhelmed with sadness, as it pervaded my inner being, after listening to David Hinds, Vincent Alexander, Nigel Hughes and Olive Sampson. What was said had no distortions or untruths. However, I gathered the panelists were not keen on solutions. 

The question begged to be asked, "Is it expected of the Indians to discipline Bharrat Jagdeo?"

If the panelist have been paying attention, since the Jagans coronate Bharrat Jagdeo, he has basically controlled the Peoples Progressive Party. He has dominated the Presidency of Sam Hinds, Donald Ramotar and Irfaan Ali. It is treasonous to pretend to be the President of Guyana. Even David Granger gave the honor to Joseph Harmon.

We've had men who are not politicians, not even opportunists, but simply lacks the will to do the right thing for the whole country. Instead, they feared a system that penalized.

Dominance by race seems to be an approval for Progressiveness.

The PPP is guilty of it, but the PNC has too. Forbes twenty eight years of it made it appeared Guyana had no Indians beyond those in his association. Then there was the APNU/AFC, at a meeting in Toronto, Indians welcome Granger and their high expectations. Granger smiled and made his speech. After elected, the administration did the worst. I look back and wondered if the thought was, "Typical Coolie Greed." 

So we appeared to be lost with only Bharrat Jagdeo as the most dominant force in the political landscape along with the crop of cronies.

No malice intended, I have followed these issues for a very long time.

Now, let  take David Hinds, he says, "only Black people muss talk bout Black people issues."

Then there is Vincent Alexander, highly theoretical on the history of Black people. Show some entrepreneurial initiative to the impoverished, they need the help, Show the way.

Mr, Nigel Hughes, has all the data for the transgressions of the State. I believe him. Coolie people can be very vindictive even to another Indian. How can there be a correction to a society, one that only acess the merits of a leadership? We have lost trust in Indian leadership and Black leadership likewise. The country needs need leadership. Perhaps, you should be a contender. But, I am concerned about the way you sound. It is wrong what the PPP is doing. Your commentary must be in a tone that is just regardless of the opponent.

Ms. Olive Sampson, Berbice and the Combined Colonies of Essequibo and Demerara have a history. British Guiana have a history. Unfortuneate, the PNC never bothered to implement history in schools. The PPP on other hand preferrs stage performances rather than building libraries stacked with books. PPP Presidents love to bump and grind on stage, they are on video doing it. Books is not their thing, but Books are a Black people thing. And Forbes, highly intelligent, did not impress the minds of our generation. We have a Guianese known for his intelligence, Ivan Van Sertima. In his novel of the 1930s, he gave us a glimpse of our history. He wrote of the coloreds mainly mulatto and creole, putagees, negroes and coolies. He painted a picture with words, prejudices of the city. Basically, coolies were treated as stray dogs, pelted with bricks as fun. I think WE GUYANESE are a hateful people. Our history demonstrates that behavior.

I PLAN TO ADD MORE from time to time.

After the Deluge:GUYANA

After the great flood, from the three sons of one man all the nations were created.

Guyana is not a homogeneous country. We have people of great mixtures as it was in Biblical PLAINS OF SHINAR. And we came to Guyana from different continents.

When the Most High assigned lands to the nations, when he divided up the human race, He established the boundaries of the peoples according to the number in His heavenly court, angels. They were the sons of God assigned to the ancient races of people to watch and protect them. According to Deuteronomy 32:8.

Guyana would have been one of such places of Devine selection for all tribes of the Native Peoples of Guyana which they named Guiana

All beneath the earth and on the earth is their rightful inheritances.   

In the rhetoric of wealth distribution, the  State must keep in mind whose inheritance they are managing.

Biblically, the managers of the State are shepherds of the sheep and are judged harshly for the punishment of those they tend to. In Guyana, it is considered nonsense

They shall find out when the trumpet blows.

The Native people must be financially rewarded to keep their culture and language alive. 

The managers of the State act as the Colonizers towards the people that Columbus and Spain stripped of their Civilization.

A Contender

Listening to the call ins on the The Gildarie-Freddie Kissoon Show, callers lament failures in their villages, towns and the City of Georgetown. Housing Development without roads, water and other amenities guaranteeing decent living in the land of their birth for generations. Salaries for work performed is not honored, both in public and private circles.

Who manages Guyana? 

All countries have pillars that sustain law, order, respect and dignity. It appears, those pillars have been eroded over the decades of an independent Guyana. Disappeared also are its foundations. 

Guyana operates in neglect. 

What does the government do? 

I am saddened by the hardships of life in Guyana for the poor. There is so much hope for a better life,  elusive, because the electorate continually chooses the wrong politicians to raise them up.

We live in an aggressive political climate. After a night of slumber, Guyanese awoke February 13, 1955 to this reality. It has consumed generations of citizens since the event known as "The Split." 

Renaissance

 

I have written over the years of the Alternative and The Third Force, these political groups did came forth in the country. Unfortunately, they only sought membership from a list of old acquaintances. It was evident from the onset that they would be no different than the Peoples National Congress or the Peoples Progressive Party. They came out of political systems that were not creative in the governance of the country. And they got tarnished in corruption just as their mentors.

Disillusioned, I sought a new path-it was the Peoples Movement. With the No Confidence Vote, racism became the driving force which numbed the country. The Peoples Movement never got the attention of the country.

Our history has been a troubling one. Today, the society is quietly fashioned. Citizens of Guyana will find themselves perplexed as to how it was possible to lose a country. I guess some Afro-Guyanese asking the same question of  a heritage. 

This land has to be recued by those who are not diehard supporters of the major political groups. Only by a  majority of citizens of a nationalistic and patriotic fervor.

Guyanese will have to regain their history of One Nation One People One Destiny. It is not achievable under our present state of governance, but it is a nationalistic dream. There is hope in the words for the better days of our country. Now, there are only patriots with personal agendas.

So the need to provide another kind of leadership is most urgent as always. As the saying goes, "in the absence of a possible solution, even the ridiculous idea has the possibility as a plausible one."

The current political system is primed with distrust, corruption and deceit.  It breathes poverty for the masses. And the pundits say, it is the parent of revolution and crime. Crimes we already have, revolution was more like ethnic cleansing in Wismar and the years of disturbances in our towns and villages.. 

For those, at the eve of their lives and were politically involved in the state of affairs of this nation, surely must remember what this colony was like seven decades ago. We were young and free and free of  political schemes in our teenage years. Unlike our forefathers, we grew up in an era of self-determination plague by the Cold War. Our leaders failed the generations that came after us, for we are locked in a Gordian Knot. You could help unravel the bind we are in as a nation with the years of your wisdom. Leave this dear land with a Guyanese Brand, not a Russian or American or Chinese Brand as our leaders sought and seek for us as a fledgling nation. Give Guyanese your words of wisdom for the future-for we must build and continue to build this land as the first day the enslaved African dug his hand in this nameless track of land identified as the Wild Coast. They gave us a country. It took four centuries for us to inherit it as Guyana. Those four centuries has diversified us. We must be tolerant. And we can be. 

On social media, the educated claim they speak for Afro-Guyanese, they are the elites. Whilst a few of the common folk of the major races vent on racism. Both with an opinion never to accommodate each other. I believe  the majority are real quiet and go about trying to survive the difficulties of life in Guyana.  

We emerged as an independent nation divided on ethnicity, a dilemma that is fed daily and the rhetoric cannot be escaped. Can there be a perfect moment? The country awaits.